who will be coming?

[small_magics]

Aianon has made a plant in the open airless space above the surface of Thilanushinyel. It is a very, very large plant - some dragons will be attending the party, after all, even if Ansharil in particular is going to be assorted small things and stay on Sarion's person the bulk of the time.

The locals will be Sarion, her beloveds, their other beloved, the five conjured dragons (and their Bondmates, where applicable: Virgivere and Lissa), and Liselen - Magania has, as usual, declined, and so far no Bell party has featured Bell parents.

Amariah is bringing her boyfriend and spontaneous daughter and two of the spontaneous daughter's friends, as well as an Alethian instance of the Rupert template.

Shell Bell is bringing Pearl and Screwdriver.

Golden is bringing her usual large contingent, as usual not including her husband but including her daughter and daughter's grown fosterling (the other remaining at home) and his wolf, both mothers-in-law and one father-in-law, adopted siblings, staff members including the Joker and Nathan, and the children of the aforementioned.

Glass is bringing both wives, all three daughters, Kanim, and her cat. She invited Icarin and Valeria, but their parents are not willing to let them gallivant into other worlds unsupervised and had a scheduling conflict.

Stella's bringing a smattering of people including Alice, Anna, Sandy, Libby, Bridget, her college roommate Janine, and Lazarus.

Tab is bringing Aelise (but not Kers) and Luhan.

Etty is bringing only Nona.

Aether, likewise, brings no one but Celo.

Pattern comes with Ripper, Slipstick, Queenie, and Ghosty.

Aegis is accompanied by her four-bodied boyfriend, Merryweather, Whitlock, and Howlett.

Aurora comes with Brilliance, Lexi with her Device Persica, Agent Honey with her Device Adularia, and Beth.

Rose brings her husband and three children and her former apprentice, Luc.

Angela brings her husband, her four children, several of her friends, and some of those friends' children and grandchildren with and without wings. Keziah also brings a friend.

Juliet shows up with Soph, Minus, Red, Giles, James, Virginia, Minnie, Ike, and Val.

Cam brings Jellybean and Tilly and stops there.

And from unBelled worlds hail additional Sherlocks and Tonies, Darcy, Matilda, Pepper, and Eights.

Comments

[snowandsparks]

"Yeah. Maybe eventually the world will get renamed, I don't know, the Archangel-Elect is in charge of that."

[newtimov]

"Which is sort of weird," muses Ike. "I mean, not that I know any other good ways to do it, but it feels like naming entire universes should be a slightly more democratic process. Or at least more collaborative."

[snowandsparks]

"What does 'democratic' mean?"

[pythbox]

"It's available back home but not readily," he says, "kind of an 'if your family has money and it hasn't been too long and they can still find your body' thing."

[keyed_up]

"I guess that's better than nothing? Unless it isn't because people take stupid risks? Also, is there some obvious way to pronounce your name that I'm missing?"

[newtimov]

"Um, a way of making decisions where everyone has an equal say in the outcome," he says. "Roughly speaking. I could explain more but then there would be politics and that is not my area of expertise."

[pythbox]

"Nope," he says. "I'm Celo out loud."

[snowandsparks]

Lucas thinks about this. "But how does it work?"

[keyed_up]

"Maybe your nametag should say that, too."

[pythbox]

"My nametag is going to be like a page long," he snorts.

[keyed_up]

"Why, what else are you skipping that should be on it?"

[pythbox]

"I can't think of anything specific, but at this rate?"

He alters his illusory nametag again, glowing briefly with the sunny divine light of his aura. Now it reads: Hi! I'm a Joker from Materia and my name is (the smear of colour that produces it when read) but you can call me Celo, and on the next line Yes, I'm naked, and on the line after that Yes, on purpose.

It is in fact getting kind of long.

[keyed_up]

"Well, at least it isn't covering up any carefully chosen accessories or anything."

(Soph is wearing even more brightly colored plastic jewelry than usual today.)

[pythbox]

"Covering up any part of me is technically blasphemy," he snorts. "Not that I care."

[newtimov]

"By approximation, most of the time. People decide on a bunch of options for something and then everyone says which one they like best and the option with the most support wins. It gets more complicated with more people involved."

[keyed_up]

"Yanno, I have never had to worry about whether something was technically blasphemy? Like, I try not to offend my religious friends and stuff, but the details of theology have never come up."

[snowandsparks]

"Yeah, it sounds it. Why would that be a good way to name worlds?"

[newtimov]

"It wouldn't necessarily, I'm just not sure the way they're currently getting named is better."

[snowandsparks]

"Yours has a kind of funny name," says Lucas.

[pythbox]

"In Materia the difference between not blasphemy and technically blasphemy can be permanently fatal," says Celo. "I cannot overstate how bad an idea it is to piss off a god."

[keyed_up]

"Well, I'm not supposed to visit Materia anyway, I guess."

[newtimov]

"Yes. Sunshine. Because our vampires catch fire in it," says Ike. "I feel like we probably have better distinguishing characteristics than that."

[snowandsparks]

"What would you name it?"

[pythbox]

"Yeah, you definitely should not do that," snorts Celo. "Nobody from out here in your nice safe fantasy paradise should visit Materia."

[keyed_up]

"I'm not from a nice safe fantasy paradise, I'm from a mean world with lots of things in it that would like to eat me."